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Senior Open: Paul Broadhurst and Darren Clarke set for final day battle at Gleneagles

Matt Smith — Sun, 24 Jul 2022 08:34:25 +0000

By Matt Smith
Northern Ireland’s Darren Clarke birdied the last to join Paul Broadhurst at the top of the leaderboard ahead of the final round of the Senior Open at Gleneagles.

The 53-year-old entered the third round with a two-stroke lead but, despite giving himself chances, could only post a one-under 69 as England’s Broadhurst went three strokes better to share the lead on nine-under.

The Englishman, who won the Senior Open in 2016, responded to a bogey at the 12th with a trio of birdies from the 13th to card his four under round of 66 and put the pressure on Clarke with the rain getting heavier as the day went on.

Clarke dropped back-to-back shots on the 12th and 13th but steadied the ship to par his way in before his closing birdie ensured he would take a share of the lead into the final round where he will bid to add The Senior Open trophy to the Claret Jug he won in 2011.

The duo is one stroke clear of New Zealand’s Steven Alker and American Jerry Kelly, both Senior Major Champions, who share third place on eight-under. Eight-time European No. 1 Colin Montgomerie is the leading Scotsman in a share for fifth place on six-under, alongside Australian Stuart Appleby, Thailand’s Thongchai Jaidee and major champions Ernie Els and Pádraig Harrington.

Four-time Senior Open winner Bernhard Langer is a shot further back in a tie for 10th place alongside South Africa’s James Kingston.

“I’ve gone out there and I’ve played nicely all day,” said Clarke. “I’ve given myself chance after chance. I’ve hit good putts. They just haven’t gone in. I’ve hit 17 greens leading the tournament and played lovely. At least one decided to go in at the last.

“Everybody has practised and we got some rain today and I lost my speed. It was difficult with the moisture but it’s the same for everybody.

The 2011 Open champion added: “It would be pretty cool to have both of them sitting beside each other, you know what I mean. I would love to win the Senior Open as well as the main Open.

“Tomorrow I give myself an opportunity again. I did it last year, and I gave myself an opportunity. Felt like I didn’t quite play well enough on the Sunday. Doddy came through and played great. Hopefully hit a couple more putts and give myself a better chance coming down the last few holes.”

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Bernhard Langer wins the Senior British Open with another age-belying performance

Golf Digest Middle East — Mon, 29 Jul 2019 06:55:14 +0000

Langer in action during the final round of the Senior Open presented by Rolex played at Royal Lytham & St. Annes on July 28, 2019 in Lytham St Annes, England. (Photo by Phil Inglis/Getty Images)

By John Strege
The end for Bernhard Langer has to be out there somewhere, but where? Who can tell? Langer stubbornly will not allow it to get close enough that it can be definitively identified.

So it was on Sunday, a month shy of his 62nd birthday, that he again quelled any notion that his better days are numbered by winning the Senior British Open for a record fourth time.

On a cold, rainy day at Royal Lytham & St. Annes, Langer erased a three-stroke deficit with a front-nine of four-under-par 30, shot a four-under-par 66 and won by two over Paul Broadhurst.

“I love holding this trophy,” Langer said. “It’s a beautiful one. I never got to hold the Open Championship trophy, but this is the next best thing and I’m very blessed to have won four of these now.”

Early in the week, Langer spoke of having been hindered recently by mental mistakes, which could have been construed as an unwelcome concession to age. His three previous starts—ties for 30th, 24th and 34th—also suggested the years finally were beginning to take a toll.

“I just need to avoid these silly mistakes,” he had said. “I make one or two silly mistakes a day, and you can’t do that, and that costs you four, six, eight shots a tournament. So I’ve got to be going back to being rock-solid where you just don’t make those mistakes and get the lowest score possible.”

He was successful in doing so on an exceedingly difficult day for golf on England’s west coast. His only errors were in execution, a few errant shots that led to two back-nine bogeys.

“I did eliminate them, yeah,” he said of the mental miscues. “It wasn’t mental today. It was just a couple of bad swings. My mind was working 100 percent. I didn’t make any mental error all day long.”

At the outset of the round, Langer trailed Broadhurst by three, but a bogey-free front nine allowed him to make the turn leading him by one and Woody Austin and Doug Barron by two. A birdie at 13 put him up three and he holed a 50-foot birdie putt on 14 to increase his lead to four.

“I was trying to have a good attitude, which is not easy when you see the forecast,” Langer said.

But even on a miserable day, if it’s the Senior British Open, the sun tends to shine on him. In his 12 starts in the championship, Langer has finished in the top two in half of them and in the top four in eight. Only once has his finished outside the top 10 and that was a tie for 12th.

The victory was his second of the year, extending his streak to eight straight years with multiple senior wins. It was his 11th senior major championship, and the 40th win of his senior career.

Clearly, the end, as it relates to his productivity, remains elusive and not yet visible even on the horizon.

Eds Note: After a brilliant second round 69 to make the cut on the number, Dubai-based amateur Steven Kelbrick produced weekend rounds of 78-74 to finish T-76 of the 79 players to make the cut.

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Paul Broadhurst wins the inaugural Ally Challenge, his third victory of the year and second in Michigan

Golf Digest Middle East — Mon, 17 Sep 2018 04:44:37 +0000

Jorge Lemus/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Paul Broadhurst of England tees off on the second tee during the final round of The Ally Challenge presented by McLaren at Warwick Hills Golf & Country Club in Grand Blanc, MI, USA Sunday, September 16, 2018.

By John Strege
The Ally Challenge is a new PGA Tour Champions event on an old familiar course for many players in the field, none of whom played it as well as a Warwick Hills Golf and Country Club rookie.

Englishman Paul Broadhurst, 53, won the inaugural Ally Challenge on Sunday, shooting a six-under par 66 on the Grand Blanc, Mich., course to win by two over Brandt Jobe and three over Warwick Hills veterans Mark O’Meara and Tom Lehman.

WIN: Places in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, Omega Dubai Desert Classic and Omega Dubai Ladies Classic Pro-Ams

Warwick Hills was the site of the PGA Tour’s Buick Open beginning in 1958 and concluding in 2009, when Tiger Woods won the tournament for the third time.

“To go back to places you know so well and enjoy so much is a great thing,” Lehman said earlier in the week.

But it was the player who had never played there before who prevailed. Broadhurst, who never joined the PGA Tour, played 54-holes in 15-under par 201 to record his third victory of the year and fifth of his senior tour career.

“Pretty special,” Broadhurst said. “I was seriously not about to play this week. I was back home last week and pulled a muscle in my back. The physio’s done a great job out here this week to get me fit. Obviously pleased to be here and win once again in Michigan.”

Broadhurst, who won the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship in Benton Harbor, Mich., in May, made seven birdies, but the key to his round largely were par saves on the back nine.

“To come here and play as well as I did, although at times it was really scrappy, my game wasn’t totally in the groove,” he said. “It was in spells. The back nine was a little bit scrappy. Hit some poor tee shots and the rhythm was getting quicker and quicker.”

His most impressive birdie came at the par-5 13th hole. When his drive wound up in an old divot, he was not able to reach the green in two, so he laid up. He left his third shot 30 feet short of the hole, then made the birdie putt.

It was a dagger for O’Meara, who had trailed by one and reasonably could have expected to pull into a tie for the lead. But after reaching the green in two, O’Meara three-putted and made par to lose a shot rather than gaining one.

Still, it was a surprisingly strong performance for O’Meara, who is now 61 and generally no longer a factor. O’Meara’s tie for third was his best finish since 2015.

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Playoff heroics give Kirk Triplett-Paul Broadhurst the victory at the Bass Pro Shops Legends of Golf

Golf Digest Middle East — Mon, 23 Apr 2018 05:05:54 +0000

(Michael Cohen/Getty Images)

By Ryan Herrington
Kirk Triplett felt like the odd man out for much of the final round at the Bass Pro Shops Legends of Golf at Big Cedar Lodge. Teamed with Paul Broadhurst in the PGA Tour Champions event, Triplett couldn’t seem to get a birdie putt to fall while playing four-balls on the Par-3 Top of the Rock course. Instead, he relied on his partner to do much of the work during a six-under 48 that tied for first at the end of regulation.

“I was the glue guy all week, just trying to make pars,” Triplett said. “Paul was playing such beautiful golf.”

In a playoff against Bernhard Langer and Tom Lehman, Triplett was frustrated again when his tee shot found a bunker on the 168-yard 18th hole, while the other three players were safely on the green.

But the 56-year-old got the last laugh when he holed the bunker shot for birdie, then watched Langer and Lehman miss from 12 and 10 feet, respectively.

“I was just so dejected after hitting such a poor shot,” Triplett said. “Coming down [to the green], I was like, Hang in there, hang in there, get it out there where you can make a par.”

ICYMI: Kirk Triplett holed out from the bunker on the first playoff hole, which proved to be the deciding shot for him and teammate Paul Broadhurst over Bernhard Langer and Tom Lehman.@BassProLegends pic.twitter.com/uLkc08RkLe

— PGA TOUR Champions (@ChampionsTour) April 22, 2018

Broadhurst and Triplett, not making a bogey over the course of the event, split the $342,000 first prize and each gets to add a victory to their PGA Tour Champions win total—Broadhurst now with three and Triplett with six. It was the first win for either since 2016.

The oldest event on the senior tour always appeared bound for a playoff under overcast skies at at the Lake of the Ozarks. In the final hour, nine teams were tied or within three shots of the lead. Arguably the biggest surprise was overnight leaders and defending champions Carlos Franco and Vijay Singh making four pars on the final four holes to miss the playoff by one stroke.

Conversely, Langer and Lehman, winners of the event in 2009, looked like they were out of it until making five birdies over the last seven holes to finish the day with a seven-under 47.

But it was all for naught after Triplett’s heroics.

“As soon as it came out I knew it had a hell of a chance,” Broadhurst said.

“You know that saying, the blind squirrel,” Triplett said. “I found a nut right there, right, at the right time.”

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THE BIG READ: European Senior Tour chief David MacLaren on Sharjah’s impressive debut and tackling golf’s toughest sales job

Kent Gray — Mon, 20 Mar 2017 14:46:24 +0000

Don’t be surprised if the Sharjah Senior Golf Masters has Middle East company on the European Senior Tour schedule soon. Then again, don’t be surprised if it doesn’t.

What David MacLaren, the new Head of the European Senior Tour, can guarantee is his loyalty to the circuit’s newest stop and his commitment to grow the tour, whether that is in the UAE, the wider Arabian Gulf or beyond.

Several high-profile players, Italian Ryder Cup star Costantino Rocca the most vocal among them, called for increased playing opportunities on the over 50s circuit during the $425,000 season-opener at Sharjah Golf & Shooting Club.

A Middle East swing, something to mirror the European Tour’s ‘Desert Swing’ in Abu Dhabi, Doha and Dubai, was mooted given that the Senior Tour, following Chris Williams’ playoff win Saturday, essentially now goes into hibernation until late June and another new event, the European Tour Properties Senior Classic in Finland.

Outside of the co-sanctioned U.S. PGA Championship in Washington (May 25-28) and the U.S. Senior Open in Massachusetts (June 29-July 2), majors that few of the European members are guaranteed to start, there are in fact only two events in the first four months of the season.

MacLaren has revealed he is in talks to add new stops in Sri Lanka and Madagascar from 2018 which would pad out the scantily clad early-season schedule.

“I think they [Sri Lanka and Madagascar] would both be obtainable, or reachable, from here [Sharjah] and that would give us a nice three tournament swing,” MacLaren said.

South African Chris Williams celebrates at Sharjah Golf & Shooting Club

Whether further Middle East events can be added remains to be seen however. MacLaren understands the enthusiasm for a Senior Desert Swing but is mindful of the four European Tour events and the two European Ladies Tour tournaments already hosted in the Middle East. He also wants to ensure Shurooq (the Sharjah Investment & Development Authority) are fully repaid for their three-year bankrolling of the Sharjah Masters.

“I think there is. I’m in the capable hands of Nick Tarratt who runs our regional office out of Dubai, and I think there is,” MacLaren said if there was room for further Middle East events.

“But I’m also very conscious that we must get the balance right between not enough tournaments and too many tournaments. In some ways, I think I’d obviously prefer one very strong tournament than three or four tournaments that aren’t as strong….I’d much prefer to ensure we’re giving the best to Sharjah and the best to Shurooq and the best to Sharjah Golf & Shooting Club.

“If other opportunities arise out of that, that’s absolutely great. But I feel a loyalty to this because of all the investment everybody has made. Even as a self contained tournament this is a symbol of what the Senior Tour is all about and is one of three, possibly four new tournaments this year and that’s good for everybody.”

MacLaren praised SGSC Managing Director and Vice Chairman, H.E. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdullah Al Thani, and the club’s tireless Director of Golf, Martin Duff, for pulling the Sharjah Masters together inside a year. It was the first time the European Tour has played an event on a nine-holer which was beamed around the globe in immaculate condition thanks to widely hailed Kiwi course superintendent Marty Brown.

He also commended Shurooq CEO H.E. Marwan Bin Jassim Al Sarkal for his foresight in ensuring the tournament’s television coverage went beyond the European Senior Tour’s usual product with three one-hour highlights programmes available for same day distribution in 65 countries.

Media coverage is vital to grow the tour and part of the chicken and egg argument voiced by Rocca. The 60-year-old urged MacLaren not to be greedy when it comes to sponsorship negotiations or contract renewal talks.

“I was reading with interest Tino’s [Constantino Rocca’s] comments and he’s absolutely right. And the funny thing is that his comments, that’s exactly what our strategy is, which is yes, we’d love to have 20 tournaments at a million dollars each but I’d prefer create for the guys 20 tournaments [full stop],” MacLaren said.

“If that means we’ve got to play for less prize-money to start with and build from the bottom up, then I think that’s the right strategy. Because then you are creating momentum, you’re creating a base.”

MacLaren clearly has support for what is a tough sell; previous Senior Tour events in Bahrain and Abu Dhabi didn’t survive beyond two seasons. He was hand-picked by new European Tour chief Keith Pelley nine months ago to revive the Senior Tour and head up European Tour Properties, the latter including Dubai’s Jumeirah Golf Estates.

South African Williams, who beat Englishman Gary Marks in overtime to become Sharjah’s inaugural champion, is also impressed with MacLaren’s early work.

“We’ve got a new guy, David MacLaren, he’s a really sharp chappie, a really clever guy,” said Williams. “He speaks several languages and he’s obviously negotiating in a native language which is a big thing, speaking to the French in French [for example]…”

Like Williams, MacLaren knows the stars of yesteryear are the European Senior Tour’s greatest commodity with a Pro-Am start alongside the likes of a Rocca, two-time senior major champion Roger Chapman or reigning Senior Open Champion Paul Broadhurst a unique opportunity.

David MacLaren, the European Senior Tour’s new chief, chats with Welshman Mark Mouland during the Sharjah Senior Golf Masters presented by Shurooq

“The great thing is I think we’ve got a product that works and it’s a product that works because of how well our players can engage,” said MacLaren. “ They can interact with amateur partners and sponsors and corporate guests more than any other tour can do. The guys are more relaxed, they’re more experienced, they’ve got more time and they’re much more willing to share.

“So media is important, social media is important but actually it’s the on the ground experience that our players can give that actually is really what our USP [unique selling point] is and that’s what makes a Senior Tour tournament special.

“The ability to play a round of golf in a Pro-Am with sponsors, members, with [tournament] staff even, that’s the magic, that’s the magic of the Senior Tour and that’s what I want to use as the centrepiece for how we build going forward.”

MacLaren says seniors golf was impacted even more keenly by the “global economic meltdown” than any other level of the game because “tournament sponsorship and sports sponsorship is something that can be sacrificed by larger companies.”

But with Sharjah, Finland, the English Senior Classic at Forest of Arden Hotel and Country Club in Coventry (October 20-22) and possibly the Dutch Senior Masters (earmarked for October 6-8) added to this year’s schedule, he’s confident about the future.

“We’re in a very good place because we’ve got some upward momentum. For the last few years our Senior Tour players haven’t been used to tournaments at the beginning of the year and I am really hopeful this will prove a catalyst for some more new tournaments in this part of the world.

“But even if that doesn’t happen, to know we can come back here for the next three years to such a special place, and I mean that genuinely, is something that gives us great heart and fills us with great pride.

“To start as spectacularly, genuinely, as we have this week [in Sharjah], that’s something I won’t forget, that’s something our players won’t forget.”

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Kingston poised as Sharjah Senior Golf Masters set for thrilling finale

Kent Gray — Sat, 18 Mar 2017 06:19:14 +0000

James Kingston didn’t know what to expect from his game or Sharjah Golf & Shooting Club before the season-opening Sharjah Senior Golf Masters. It seems he needn’t have fretted about either.

The 51-year-old South African has a maiden European Senior Tour title in his crosshairs after firing a six-under 66 in Friday’s second round to summit the leaderboard at -10.

A two-time winner on the European whippersnappers (read main) Tour, Kingston takes a one stroke advantage to his 12.05pm, final round tee time today over countryman and overnight leader Chris Williams and Englishman Gary Marks.

With six players within three strokes of Kingston’s lead, Sharjah’s historic 9-hole debut as a European Tour venue is set for a compelling climax. Kingston is just pleased to be part of the mix.

“I’m absolutely delighted,” said Kingston who carded seven birdies, including four in succession from the third to the sixth, in his 66. “Coming here, not knowing what to expect with the golf course. I wasn’t 100 per cent sure how I was playing, but ten under par is great.”

Marks got off to a flying start with three birdies in a row and matched Kingston’s total of seven on the way to a four under 68 which would have been even better but for a double bogey on the seventh and a bogey on 11.

“It was a great start, you can’t plan things like that, but you have to keep it going and not defend or get complacent,” Marks said. “I had a period around the middle of the round, took a double bogey on seven and I had another bogey soon after, so I was in a bit of trouble. But a couple of decent putts went in, one for par and one for birdie and I finished steadily after regrouping.”

Williams followed up his electrifying course record opening round of 65 with a more sedate two under 70 while Roger Chapman (67), Steen Tinning (71), Magnus Atelvi (71) and reigning European Senior Tour order of merit champion Paul Broadhurst (67) are poised in a share of fourth at -7.

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Williams fires course record for slender Sharjah lead

Kent Gray — Thu, 16 Mar 2017 12:51:01 +0000

Chris Williams has ignited the new European Senior Tour season with a course record 65 in the opening round of the Sharjah Senior Golf Masters at Sharjah Golf & Shooting Club.

The 57-year-old South African took full advantage of an early tee time in rattling off two eagles and five birdies in his pace-setting seven-under round, a stunning two-lap loop of the Peter Harradine-designed nine-holer which edged the previous record by a stroke.

Two bogeys meant Williams’ round wasn’t flawless and will see American Clark Dennis, Swede Magnus Atlevi and Dane Steen Tinning start Friday just a shot back after the trio carded matching 66s. A group of five were hot their heels at five-under-par, setting up the prospect of a thrilling contest over the weekend in Sharjah.

Welshman Stephen Dodd, a UAE regular, fired a four under 68 to lead the list of other notable first round scores. Barry Lane carded a 69 while defending order of merit and Senior Open champion Paul Broadhurst was also well in the hunt after a 70. Des Smyth has work to do after opening with a two-over 74 while Italian Costantino Rocca signed for a 75.

Williams, who has one previous win on the European Senior Tour at the 2011 Aberdeen Brunei Senior Masters, got off to the perfect start with a first hole birdie and never let up on the smooth putting surfaces.

“There wasn’t much wind out there this morning and that’s when you’ve got to post your scores because it looks like the wind blows a lot here in the afternoon,” said the former Sunshine Tour player who negotiated the four par 5s in five-under-par, including eagles on the 4th and 15th.

“I birdied the first hole and that kind of set the trend for the round. I felt more relaxed after that and the two eagles were nice bonuses.

“I sunk a long putt on the 4^th and holed out from the bunker on the 15th so you’ve got to be pleased with that! Two eagles will always get your score down no matter what else you do.”

Tinning, meanwhile, got his putter going, a solitary bogey the only blemish in a round that included seven birdies.

“I’ve got a few new things going on with my putting and they all worked very well today. I’ve been practicing hard to try to be prepared for the first tournament so this is a great way to start.

“The course is great fun to play. At times you’ve got to really be careful but at other times there are birdie chances. The greens are rolling very nicely so you’re going to get low scores when the greens are like this.”

“The course is set up for good scoring and I think spectators can expect to see some really good scores over the weekend,” he said.

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Rocca: European Senior Tour must ‘cultivate’ sponsors and not get greedy

Kent Gray — Thu, 16 Mar 2017 12:45:05 +0000

Costantino Rocca couldn’t conjure up any of his old magic during the opening round of the Sharjah Senior Golf Masters Thursday but is thankful for a new early season event to at least try his luck.

A lousy winter in Bergamo saw the 60-year-old Italian arrive for the European Senior Tour’s $425,000 season-opener a little rusty and it showed as he stumbled to a 75.

The three over-par score left Rocca in a share of 48^th place, flirting with the foot of the 57-player leaderboard and a seemingly insurmountable 10 shots behind overnight leader Chris Williams after the South African rattled off two eagles in a fine 65.

With no cut, Rocca has a further 36 holes to find his game on Sharjah Golf & Shooting Club’s nine-holer and will undoubtedly be a drawcard for the galleries whatever he scores, as he has been ever since draining that improbable 25-footer from the ‘Valley of Sin’ to send the 124^th Open Championship at St. Andrews into overtime in 1995.

After flubbing his second shot into the ‘Valley of Sin’, Rocca holed an improbable 25-footer for birdie on the 72nd green at St. Andrews to take the 1995 Open Championship into overtime. The Italian lost the four-hole playoff to John Daly for four shots

The frustration for Rocca, and he’s not alone, is the lack of playing opportunities. After Sharjah, the next European Senior Tour event actually in Europe isn’t until late June. Indeed, two of the first four events on the 15-tournament schedule include the U.S. Senior PGA and U.S. Senior Open, major championships only the highest ranked Europeans can count on playing.

Rocca believes the European Senior Tour missed a trick when the likes of six-time major champion Sir Nick Faldo turned 50 (“Before there is 25-26 tournaments…”) and has been scrambling for the big name media creditability, and thus sponsorship dollars, ever since.

He insists it is not as simple as blaming the challenges on the financial riches available on the Champions Tour in the US.

“We cannot play like now and then [next at] the end of June. I can practice another three months for nothing and that is the difference which means you have to do other things,” said Rocca who was beaten by John Daly in the four-hole playoff at St. Andrews in 1995 by four shots.

“This is a shame because you see Woosie [Ian Woosnam} going there [to the US], Broady [Paul Broadhurst] is going there, everyone is going there. It’s more money yes, but it’s also more tournaments.

“We see a lot of good players coming to 50 and [we] have 10-12 tournaments so they try to go to America. I think we need 20 tournaments even if they’re not big, big prize money.”

Rocca famously tamed Tiger Woods 4&2 in their singles match at the 1997 Ryder Cup at Valderrama in Spain. Two years earlier, the Italian struck just the third ace in Ryder Cup history at Oak Hills

Rocca applauded European Senior Tour chief David MacLaren for securing the Sharjah start which is being bankrolled by the Sharjah Investment & Development Authority (Shurooq). Like Des Smyth, the Italian would love to see another two or three events tagged into a Senior Desert Swing to pad out the start of the season.

In that regard, Rocca has urged the tour’s powerbrokers not to be greedy when it comes to sponsorship talks and particularly contract renegotiations.

“I think we have to cultivate the sponsors, maybe one year you have [a purse worth] $200,00…the next year it cannot be $300,000,” said the three-time Ryder Cupper who has two senior wins to go with his five European Tour titles, the most prestigious of them being the 1996 Volvo PGA Championship.

“It can be $220,000, $230,000 [even] $250,000, then you can maintain [a sponsor and a schedule]…if you are $200, 000 and then $300-350,000…no way, you have lost a sponsor.

“So my opinion, if you have 10-12 good tournaments, about like this one [$425,000 purse] or a little bit more, then maybe eight or nine at about $250,000 or something, yes ok, I can play 10, another guy can play 10, something like that. It’s good.

“If you make them [players] go to Q-school, we have to give them the opportunity to play. What’s the point if I pre qualify from the school and then I don’t play, I play five tournaments?”

“We have to take every sponsor we can get.”

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Sharjah favourite: ‘I’m not a Langer or a Monty but being Broady has worked quite well’

Kent Gray — Wed, 15 Mar 2017 15:17:34 +0000

Sharjah Golf & Shooting Club is nearly 7500km from Royal Porthcawl in Wales and the European Senior Tour’s season-opener this week a long way removed from the Senior Open Championship in July. But they’re intricately interwoven in Paul Broadhurst’s world.

The 51-year-old Englishman will have a figurative eye on the defence of his senior Claret Jug when he begins the defence of the senior tour’s moneylist title at the inaugural $425,000 Sharjah Senior Golf Masters starting Thursday.

Broadhurst tees it up with 2016 rookie-of-the-year Magnus P Atlevi and former Ryder Cupper Barry Lane in the first European Tour event to be played in the emirate and on a nine hole course anywhere and is hopeful the good “Broady” turns up for the auspicious occasion.

“I want to play well and compete, but I’m not one of those guys who can guarantee it week-in, week-out. I’m not a Langer or a Monty, I’m a Broady,” said Broadhurst who pipped American Scott McCarron by two shots in the Senior Open at Carnoustie and captured €399,285 in winning the John Jacobs Trophy as European Senior Tour player-of-the-year.

“That’s been working quite well these last 18 months, so long may that continue.

“It was a pretty incredible 2016 for me and it’s going to be tough to follow that but I’m up for the challenge and I’m here to try win this week. I want to finish as high as I can on the Order of Merit, but I know I’m going to have to do well here and at the Majors to have a chance of winning it.”

Broadhurst has been campaigning in the UAE since the first Dubai Desert Classic in 1989. He was part of the advance party which played a promotional pro am last year to announce Sharjah’s inclusion on the European Senior Tour schedule and after several loops of the Peter Harradine-designed course this week is convinced the event will be decided on the greens.

Paul Broadhurst is presented with the John Jacobs Trophy by David McLaren, Head of European Senior Tour, after the final round of the MCB Tour Championship last December

“This week will be a bit of a putting contest, we really need to master these greens to get some low scores,” the former Ryder Cupper said.

“There are a lot of good players here and you’ll need to shoot a low score to win. There are a few new additions, and it’s the younger guys you have to watch out for.”

Brendan McGovern, winner of European Senior Tour’s 2017 Q-School will strike the first shot of the championship in a group including fellow graduates Clark Dennis and Peter Wilson.

Roger Chapman, who triumphed at the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship and U.S. Senior Open in 2012, is grouped with 2011 John Jacobs Trophy winner Peter Fowler and Sweden’s Adam Mednick, who joined the Senior Tour last season.

Two-time European Tour champion James Kingston and two-time Senior Tour winner Gordon Manson join Ronan Rafferty, a former European No.1 and 1989 Ryder Cup starter.

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Barry’s trip down memory Lane won’t linger on Sharjah’s tees

Kent Gray — Wed, 15 Mar 2017 06:44:50 +0000

arry Lane believes the ability to quickly park previous attempts on any given hole will be key when Sharjah Golf & Shooting Club becomes the first nine-hole course to host a European Tour sanctioned event this week.

The 56-year-old Englishman is one of the early favourites for the Sharjah Senior Golf Masters presented by Shurooq, the European Senior Tour’s $425,000, 57-player, 54-hole season-opening event.

Lane is impressed with the Peter Harradine-designed layout and is predicting a stiff test.

“It’s a lovely course, a proper nine-hole course, and it will make a tough 18-hole course,” the 1993 Ryder Cupper said.

“I’m not quite sure what the final score will be to be honest. It’s difficult to get close to the flags and some of the greens are tricky to read, it has been set up really nicely for a tournament. We play from different tees on the par threes and par fives, which I think is very sensible.

“I think the hardest challenge will be forgetting what you had done the first time you played the hole and refocusing. It will be different for us, but anything different is good.”

Lane, a five time winner on both the main and senior European Tours, enters Sharjah as the most recent senior tour winner after clinching last year’s MCB Tour Championship in Mauritius.

“The game seems to still be there and I’m really looking forward to this season,” said Lane who collected €128,760 for finishing fifth on last season’s moneylist, the fifth time in six years that he has finished inside the order of merit’s top 5.

“I had six second-place finishes and a few thirds since the last time I won on the Senior Tour in 2012. I hadn’t realised it had been so many years between wins.

“I played well from September onwards and carried it through. I feel like I’m playing as well, if not better, than I was in Mauritius. I went over to America at the start of the year and practiced and played a lot.”

With so many forced carries over water, Lane’s length off the tee is set to be an asset in Sharjah where reigning Senior Open champion Paul Broadhurst, last season’s order of merit champion and another long baller, is the firm favourite. The tournament, like most, will ultimately be decided on the greens though. While smooth and true and likely to be sped up for the start of the tournament on Thursday, they were running on the slow-ish side in Tuesday’s Pro-Am which will take the field some time to adjust to.

As the only player to play the first 25 Dubai Desert Classics, Lane is familiar with desert conditions and ready for the challenge of playing in Sharjah for the first time.

“I have played well in the Emirates over the years, I finished third in Dubai twice and sixth four times.

“I like coming here, and at this time of year the weather is perfect. It’s a shock to the system coming to 30 degrees, I live in Gothenburg in Sweden and it has been minus 15 over there.”

Entry to the Sharjah Senior Masters, which begins at 7am Thursday, is free.

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